Symbol of the Month – The Mourning Woman

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A fine example from Kensal Green Cemetery on the Isabella Shaw memorial.

©Carole Tyrrell


This month’s symbol is the Mourning Woman who comes from Classicism and its association with ancient Greece and Rome.  I would hesitate before describing their presence in Victorian cemeteries and churchyards as a monstrous regiment but they have mostly been on duty for over a hundred years.  They patiently watch over and grieve for the departed.  An eternal mourner, often with a veil covering her head and swathed in flowing robes, she keeps vigil.

The Mourning Woman can be a free standing statue on top of a monument or plinth looking sorrowfully down on the viewer.  She can also be in the form of a 3D relief weeping over an urn containing the beloved’s ashes as in these examples:





A somewhat weathered example on teh Harry George memorial, Brompton Cemetery. Note the downturned torch.
©Carole Tyrrell
A mourning woman and urn in 3D relief on the Hart tomb, Brompton Cemetery/
©Carole Tyrrell
A weathered image holding what appears to be a laurel wreath, The epitaph is illegible. Brompton cemetery/
©Carole Tyrrell
A lovely mourning woman with urn and dove but illegible epitaph, Brompton Cemetery.
©Carole Tyrrell

At West Norwood cemetery there is this example of one resting on a lifesize cross (I hate to say it but whenever I see her I’m always reminded of the George Formby song ‘I’m Leaning on a lamp post…etc.).               

A full view of the mourning woman as she rests on a cross on the Herbert Warren memorial, West Norwood Cemetery.
©Carole Tyrrell

Classicism held sway when London’s Magnificent Seven cemeteries were created. The anti-Catholic movement from the Georgian era was still a major influence with the cry ‘No Popery!’ loudly shouted.   So, no crosses, no statues of Jesus and no angels were permitted.  Instead, the clear cool lines of the ancient world were used as well as some of their traditions.

Mourning women were one of them as women played an integral part in the funerary ritual in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome.  In the latter they were paid professional mourners as the more mourners there were at a funeral the more they emphasised how wealthy and prestigious the departed had been in life.  In the funeral procession which took place prior to the cremation the professional mourning women, who were not part of the deceased’s family, would loudly wail, rip out their hair and also scratch their faces in mourning according to contemporary records.  It was felt that women could more easily express emotions as it was unacceptable for a man to weep in public.

There are several Biblical references to the mourning women.  They are mentioned in Amos 5:16, Chronicles 35:25 and also in Jeremiah 9:17 as below

Thus saith the LORD of hosts,

Consider ye, and call for the mourning women,

that they may come;

and send for cunning women,

that they may come:
King James Bible

The reference to ‘cunning’ women means ‘skilled’ women.

The reference to ‘cunning’ women means ‘skilled’ women. They would often weep noisily and copiously spilling their tears into vessels known as tear catchers or lachrimosa.  At an excellent Museum of Docklands exhibition, The Roman Dead, there were some

on display.  They were small glass vessels and were placed in tombs, presumably overflowing, after the funeral was complete. Again, if many tears were collected, it signified that the deceased was held in high esteem and those crying the most would receive a higher payment.

Incidentally the tear catchers became fashionable again in the 19th century with the Victorian cult of death.  But this time the bottles had special stoppers that allowed the tears to evaporate and when they did the mourning period would be over.  There is also a Biblical association with the practice of collecting tears in bottles in Psalms 56:8:

Thou tellest my wanderings:

put thou my tears into thy bottle:

are they not in thy book?

King James Bible

In ancient Greece it was again women who prepared the body and then laid it out ready for viewing on the second day.  

Kinswomen, wrapped in dark robes, stood round the bier, the chief mourner, either mother or wife, was at the head, and others behind. This part of the funeral rites was

the prothesis. Women led the mourning by chanting dirges, tearing at their hair and clothing, and striking their torso, particularly their breasts.

Wikipedia

Here is a 6th century depiction of ancient Greek professional mourning women in full flow:

Body lying in state attended by family members with the mournign women ritually tearing their hair, Terracotta plaque – late 6th century BC. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, USA
Shared under Wiki Creative Commons

So for centuries women have been associated with, and played a major part, in the funerary process which may have been one of the reasons for the Mourning Woman appearing in cemeteries.

I feel that these women could be seen as a forerunner of the winged angels that flew into cemeteries towards the end of the 19th century.  Both of them were guardians of the dead protecting them for eternity.

This two examples are variants of the mourning woman that I discovered in Kent churchyards recently. The one below is in the churchyard of All Saints Birchington and is remarkably well carved.  The epitaph is sadly unreadable. In the centre of the headstone with two winged souls above her, a woman, seen sideways on, wearing flowing draperies holds a piece to her eyes as she weeps. She looks toward a portrait of, presumably the deceased, contained within an oval cartouche with an anchor behind it. Was he drowned? A Royal Navy man? We may never know. There’s a real rhythm to the carving particularly with the draperies that flow around her. However, the carvings on either side of her are much less distinct. On the right hand side it could be a fully masted ship.  The left hand side could be anything.

Mourning woman, All Saints Birchington-on-sea. © Carole Tyrrell

This one comes from St Nicholas at Wade and is similar in style to the one at Birchington but not in such good condition. It’s the side view of a seated woman who is weeping at she looks at a large book. It may be the Bible or the Book of Life. She wears a flowing gown and sorrows over an elegant urn which contains the ashes of the deceased.

Mourning woman on headstone, St Nicholas at Wade churchyard, Kent.© Carole Tyrrell

To end on, here is a lovely example that I unexpectedly discovered while on a Sunday afternoon stroll in the ‘secret’ graveyard behind St Nicholas’s church in Sevenoaks.  She stands, surrounded by back gardens, and is a particularly elegant version.  The memorial beneath her feet is dedicated to Elizabeth Dick and was erected by her sorrowing husband.

This lovely example is on the memorial to Elizabeth Dick and is in St Nicholas churchyard Sevenoaks.
©Carole Tyrrell

Sleep well for eternity Elizabeth and all those guarded by the mourning women.

©Text and photos Carole Tyrrell unless otherwise stated

References and further reading:

https://victorianmonsters.wordpress.com/victorian-funerary-practices/https://victorianmonsters.wordpress.com/victorian-funerary-practices/

https://www.ancient.eu/article/96/the-roman-funeral

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_funerary_practices

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Funus.html

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/understanding-grief/201802/professional-mourners-ancient-tradition

https://biblehub.com/jeremiah/9-17.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_mourning

http://www.lachrymatory.com/History.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_funeral_and_burial_practices

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Funus.html

A medieval stonemason steps out from the Dark Ages

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Self portrait of Adam Kraft Photo © Helen Grant

Stonemasons from the middle ages can often be anonymous.  They may have left a name carved on a headstone, although I’ve not been lucky enough to find one yet, or there may be a payment to one in a dusty parish register.  It means that so often their work has to speak for them.

As I said in my 2022 post, ’A Medieval stonemason’s selfie!’  the churchyard of All Saints, Maidstone has two graves of stonemasons from the 19th century and there is also a 17th century monument to a one in Faversham’s St Mary of Charity burial ground. But these days you are far more likely to discover the name of the monumental masons employing the stoneworker at the back of a headstone than the man or woman themselves.

But a friend recently visited Nuremberg in Germany and the church of St Lorenz in particular.  It was there that she found a sculpted self portrait of one of the most celebrated medieval local stonemasons. It’s carved from sandstone and still has colour on it. This is on his beard, his eyes and there are traces on his apron. Kraft carries his tools, a hammer and chisel, and is in his working clothes. He looks out at visitors from the base of one of his most celebrated pieces of work, the Tabernacle. It dates from the 1490s which is when most of his documented work began. It’s an important piece of sculpture as:

‘ It has been suggested that this figure marks the period where the artist’s status was transitioning from anonymous craftsman to recognised individual master.’  http://www.identifier

Full view of the statue. © Helen Grant

The mason’s name is Adam Kraft, (1460’s – Jan 1509) and he is considered to be one of the most important stonemasons of the German late Gothic period.  Adam is believed to have been married twice but it’s not known if he had any children and is buried in the nearby town of Schwabach.

He was chiefly employed by religious institutions and wealthy patrons of the town. In addition, he worked on local public buildings such as Nuremberg’s Imperial stables, epitaphs and reliefs such as coats of arms.  Much of this work can still be seen.

The Tabernacle, St Lorenz church, Nuremberg if you look carefully Adam Kraft’s statue is at the bottom left.© Uocie1 Shared under Wiki Creative Commons

As I said earlier, his self portrait sits at the base of his masterpiece, the 18.7 metres (61 feet) high tabernacle with St Lorenz church. According to Wikipedia:

‘It resembles a gothic tower reaching up into the church’s vault and is created from tracery interspersed with figurative scenes from Christ’s Passion. It was commissioned in 1493 by Hans Imhoff, a patrician from Nuremberg.”

The tabernacle was slightly damaged during World War which led to restoration.

Detail of monument from Nuremberg with a self portrait of Kraft on right hand side from V & A Museum. © Stephen C Dickson Shared under Wiki Creative Commons

A nearby local church, St Sebaldus, has another of Kraft’s significant works on its exterior.  This dates from 1490-92 and depicts the Crucifixion, Entombment of Christ and the resurrection of Christ. If you look closely at one of the panels, you will see what is reputed to be a self portrait of Kraft supporting the crucified Christ as he is taken down from the Cross. A cast of these panels can be seen in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum’s Cast Courts.

Kraft worked in Nuremberg and surrounding areas for nearly 20 years from 1490 – 1509 with a small team of two or three assistants. He depended on wealthy patrons and the Church for commissions. This, I feel would have been true, of most stonemasons of the time. It was the wealthy who could afford headstones and monuments when they had to be buried in the churchyard after the churches ran out of space. There are still medieval items to be found in churches despite the Victorian zeal for restoration.

Simon Kraft wanted to be remembered, not only for his magnificent work, but as a professional craftsman and I feel that his sculpted figure represents all stonemasons. 

©Text Carole Tyrrell unless otherwise stated.

References and further reading:

Adam Kraft | sculptor, stone mason | Artists | Virtual museum of Nuremberg art (has examples of his work)

Adam Kraft – Wikipedia

Adam Kraft | Renaissance, Nuremberg, Altarpiece | Britannica

Self-Portrait of Adam Kraft (at the base of the Sakramentshaus) – Adam Kraft (Nuremberg, c. 1455-1509) | Art Identifier

The Schreyer-Landauer Monument | Kraft, Adam | Rotermundt, Jacob | V&A Explore The Collections

Nuremberg | Population, History, Trials, Castle, Map, & Facts | Britannica

Symbol of the Month – the Agnus Dei

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Close-up of Agnus Dei symbol on tombstone. Sadly the epitaph is no longer visible so I can’t confirm if it is to a child or young person.
©Carole Tyrrell

This month’s symbol is the Agnus Dei, which is a Latin term and can be translated as The Lamb of God.  The Lamb is usually portrayed sideways on and is often depicted with a variety of accoutrements such as a cross, a banner and a halo or a combination of these elements.  In the example above, the Lamb is carrying a cross which represents the Crucifixion as well as a banner which, according to J C Cooper, is an emblem of the Resurrection.  It has also be depicted with other motifs such as a shepherd’s crook, Chi-Rho crosses and the alpha/omega.

I have seen The Lamb several times as it is common throughout Christian art and I saw a fine example within a stained glass window in Augustus Pugin’s private chapel at his former home at Ramsgate, Kent.  William Morris also created a memorable one, now sadly faded, in a window at St Martin’s church, Scarborough.  The Agnus Dei is known as a Paschal Lamb within heraldry and is the regimental emblem of the Queens Royal Surrey Regiment.  I found this example in the military war graves section of a London cemetery..

The Agnus Dei on a military tombstone. This is the regimental symbol of the Queens Royal Surrey Regiment in the military graves section of a London cemetery.
©Carole Tyrrell

But the origins of the Lamb go back much further into antiquity. In John 1:29, it’s seen as a direct allusion to Jesus:

‘The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’

This verse emphasises Christ’s sacrifice for humanity’s sins and there are several references in the Old Testament to lambs as sacrificial objects.  For example, the Israelites sacrificed one as a representation of a human sinner.  In this way, its death signified the absorbing of original sin. This  painting, The Sacrificial Lamb, is by the 16th century artist, Francisco Zurbaran. 

Francesco Zurbaran (1598 – 1664) The Lamb of God, Prado Museum, Madrid
shared under Wiki Commons

Sheep have been also been worshipped as deities by several ancient civilisations including he Sumerians. The Bible contains numerous references to sheep with God being seen as the shepherd of a vast flock of sheep that represents humanity.

But as a funerary symbol within cemeteries and graveyards the Lamb represents gentleness, innocence and the unblemished life of the deceased.  In this context, it is supposed to mark the grave of an infant or child.  However, the epitaph on the example that I found in Brompton Cemetery had completely vanished which made it difficult to disprove or support this theory. However, I particularly like this one with its black background emphasising the light rays emanating from the Lamb.  These highlight its divinity within the unusual lozenge shaped tombstone.  But it’s a real shame that we don’t know whose buried there.

The Agnus Dei in an unusual lozenge shaped headstone.
©Carole Tyrrell

The Lamb is also associated with resurrection and there is an example at the back of the Doulton mausoleum in West Norwood Cemetery.

I’m surprised that it doesn’t appear more often within cemeteries and graveyards and I will be looking out for more examples.  Although I was aware that the symbol was called the Lamb of God I didn’t know of its association within major religions  and civilisations. It has been fascinating to research this.

© Text and photos Carole Tyrrell unless otherwise stated.

References and further reading:

Stories in Stone; A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism & Iconography, Douglas Keister, 2004, Gibbs Smith

An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Traditional Symbols, J C Cooper, Thames & Hudson 1979 reprinted 1983.

https://www.verywell.com/headstone-symbols-lamb-sheep-or-agnus-dei-4006520

http://www.religionfacts.com/agnus-dei

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamb_of_God

https://symbolsproject.eu/explore/animals/real-insects-birds–saved-soul-the-soul-leaving-the-body-water-animals-terrestrial/lamb-agnus-dei.aspx

http://www.lsew.org.uk/funerary-symbolism/

http://www.jesuswalk.com/lamb/lamb-agnus-dei-artwork.htm

http://www.druidic.org/camchurch/churches/croydon.htm

https://wordsonstone.wordpress.com/category/symbolism/page/4/

http://friendsofstmartins.co.uk/images/ChapelWindows/AgnusDeiSymbol.html

http://www.masonic-lodge-of-education.com/masonic-lamb.html

A gathering of 18th century symbols – St Nicholas, Strood, Kent

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St Nicholas church front entrance, Strood, early 20th century prior to clearances. Courtesy of Kent Archaeological Society

St Nicholas church, which sits in Strood town centre, once boasted a full churchyard of headstones, memorials and monuments as you can see from the above image. It was taken during the early 20th century and may include the original resting place of one or more of the little group now marooned in the South Western corner. It was during the 1960’s that the churchyard was cleared and, instead of a good selection of memorials to explore, there is now an expanse of grass with a few isolated monuments. There has been a suggestion that this wholesale clearance may have been to make the churchyard ‘easier to mow’ but I couldn’t comment on this. It’s just sad to think of what has been lost.

St Nicholas back entrance taken from train, apologies for the quality. This would once have been full of memorials.© Carole Tyrrell

It reminded me of another great cemetery clearance of the time, West Norwood Cemetery, in South West London where 10,000 memorials, headstones and monuments were cleared by Lambeth Council who had compulsorily purchased it due to it having become overgrown and neglected. The clearance was stopped by the Southwark Consistory Court in 1991. No records were kept of what was being destroyed and there was no acknowledgement that relatives might have been upset by it.

Group view of the 18th century headstones. © Carole Tyrrell

But near the entrance of St Nicholas is a small gathering of eighteen 18th century headstones which have been preserved under yew trees. However, it is undoubtedly not where the permanent residents that they commemorate are actually buried as they could be anywhere within the churchyard. The epitaphs may not be as crisp as they once were and the symbols on the stones may have eroded over time but they are a fascinating collection. My particular interest is funerary symbols and so this was a wonderful collection to explore.

This post features a small selection from the group. These photos were taken in 2020 so they may have deteriorated further since then as they are near a busy road.

It’s an assortment of familiar motifs such as winged souls or messengers, trumpets, skulls and also pictures. The latter are testament to the stonemason’s skill in that they have survived in such good condition. The men, their wives and their families that are remembered on the stones were well to do tradesmen, one was a former Mayor of Rochester, and several left substantial wills and bequests.  The trades represented are: two House Carpenters, a Fisherman, a Dredgerman, a Gentleman, a Yeoman, a Blacksmith, and a Tailor.  A Dredgerman was an oyster fisherman and a Yeoman was historically a free man who owned and cultivated his own land and had a social rank between peasants and the gentry.

I am indebted to the Kent Archaeological Society for their monument records pertaining to St Nicholas churchyard and also the epitaphs and information about related wills and bequests

WILLIAM PORTER

Full view of William Porter’s headstone. © Carole Tyrrell

Closer view of the Porter headstone. © Carole Tyrrell

The first one I noticed was ‘The Choice’ which is a familiar one in Kent churchyards. I first saw it in All Saints, Staplehurst, Kent and the scene is almost like a miniature Doom painting.  My interpretation of it is that it’s Judgement Day, the deceased has awoken from their eternal slumber and they are throwing off their grave clothes. As you face the stone, the King of Terrors is to your right brandishing ‘Death’s Dart’ while standing on top of a skeletal rib cage.  However, on the other side of the awakening person is a blank space except for some stylised clouds at the top. This is where I would expect to find an image of Heaven with perhaps an angel. However, it may have eroded completely.  It is a popular image. I found five versions of it in the churchyard of St Mary the Virgin in Newington, Kent.  One of the pleasures of exploring churchyards is following a stonemasons work. I may never know who they were but they have left their work as an example of where they have been.

The image itself may have come from a painting, a Bible or even one of the pattern books of the time. However, please bear in mind that the King of Terrors would have been on the deceased’s left hand side which is known as the ‘sinister’ side.  There are also rosettes and decorative swirls surrounding the image.

‘The Choice’ is dedicated to William Porter who drowned at Wouldham, Kent on 19 December 1773.

The epitaph reads:

IN MEMORY OF WILL. PORTER

OF THIS PARISH TAYLOR HE WAS DROWNED

AT WOULDHAM DIED 19TH [DECEMBER 1773]

AGED [  ] YEARS

ALSO HANNAH HIS WIFE

WHO DIED THE 17TH ? OF April 17[76]

Aged [     ]

In William Porter’s will he left all of his estate and effects to his wife Hannah for ever. She was also directed to give £100, (a sizeable amount at the time) to Hannah Robson, daughter of James Robson of Strood who was a fisherman. However, Hannah Porter renounced her role as executor of the will and it was subsequently undertaken by three creditors who were bound by a bond of £800 to administer the estate. Hannah herself left a will dated 27th September 1775 in which she left all of her personal estate after the usual expenses to James Robson, mariner, for ever.

William Batcheller’s headstone is behind the Porters and can also be seen in the photos.

WILLIAM BATCHELLER

Full view of William Batcheller’s headstone. © Carole Tyrrell

Close up view of William Batcheller’s headstone. © Carole Tyrrell

This headstone is dedicated to William Batcheller and his family. There are two winged messengers or souls which are a sign of resurrection. On the right hand side there appears to be a palm leaf beneath one and on the other side there are trumpets underneath. I thought at first glance that they were crossed bones, but, on a closer glance I could see that they were in fact trumpets. This is a reference to the Day of Judgement where the angel Gabriel would blow a trumpet to bring the dead back to life. The palm has many associations in ancient cultures. For example, in Egypt it represented immortality and it was a sign of victory in ancient Greece and Rome. It is most associated with Palm Sunday in Christianity.  This is when palm branches are distributed to a congregation for them to take home. The stone mason has also added decorative touches such as swirls and cartouches to enhance the design which is something that I haven’t seen in other churchyards or cemeteries. The epitaph reads:

SACRED

TO THE MEMORY OF

MR WILLIAM BATCHELLER

OF THIS PARISH

WHO DIED THE 2ND OF NOVEMBER 1776

AGED 60 YEARS

ALSO ELIZABETH WIFE OF THE ABOVE

WHO DIED 21ST? OF MARCH 1781 AGED 68 YEARS

ALSO CHILDREN OF THE ABOVE

WILLIAM DIED 26TH MARCH 1781 AGED 28? YEARS

WATKIN DIED 15th [   ] 17 [      ] AGED 16 YEARS

ALSO MRS SARAH BRIDGE

DAUGHTER OF THE ABOVE

WHO DIED [   ]  MAY 1806 AGED 7 [  ]  YEARS

William Batcheller left a will dated 14th January 1765 in which he left all his household goods, plate, linen etc to his wife, Elizabeth, who was also his executor. In addition, he wished his wife to have any money from lottery tickets that he bought in 1773.

Sarah, his daughter, also left a will dated 11 November 1805.

In it, she bequeathed various sums of South Sea annuities to three recipients totalling £3,750 and three months after her death they were to be transferred to other recipients including her servant. Any remaining ‘residue’ of her ‘personal estate after funeral expenses, etc.’ was to go to James Bridge.

There was also a codicil to the will, dated the same day, in which she states that ‘a bequest of £500 old stock’ was to go Mary, wife of James Bridge. Sarah had empowered him to buy £100 of old South Sea stock for herself on 11th November 1801. However, she had discovered that a further sum of £100 in this stock had been purchased in the names of James Bridge and his wife ‘contrary to her wishes.’ James Bridge was then told to alter the bonds into her name. and also ‘if he does not, in her lifetime’ then she would revoke his legacy given to Mary Bridge. In lieu of this she gave her £300 of the stock, ‘and no more’ The rest of the will was ratified.  A formidable lady.

JAMES BURR

Full view of James Burr’s headstone. © Carole Tyrrell

Closer view of James Burr’s headstone. © Carole Tyrrell

This is an image of the Good Samaritan and very similar to the example that I first encountered in St Margaret’s churchyard in Rochester. The Good Samaritan appears in the King James Bible Luke 10:25.37:

‘But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.’

In this image the observer can see the victim being helped by the Samaritan whose horse is looking on. Two figures, presumably the priest and the Levite, appear to be moving away from the scene on the right hand side

It is dedicated to James and Elizabeth Burr and their daughter Sarah.  The epitaph reads:

IN MEMORY OF

JAMES BURR OF THIS PARISH

WHO DIED [  ]  AUGUST 17[  ]

AGED 36 YEARS

ALSO ELIZABETH HIS WIFE

WHO DIED 27TH OF JANUARY 1777

AGED 90 YEARS

ALSO SARAH THEIR DR

OF WILL. GREGORY OF YS PARISH

WHO DIED YE 2nd of July 1778

AGED 64 ? YEARS

However, James Burr does not appear in the Burial Register.

Sarah Burr, his daughter, married William Gregory in the same year as her death. Elizabeth Burr, her mother, left a will dated 25 June 1776 in which she left all her estate to her daughter.

An interesting selection of stones, not only in their symbols and images, but also what they tell us about a section of the local 18th century community’s life and occupations.

Text and photos© Carole Tyrrell unless stated otherwise

References and further reading:

Palm branch – Wikipedia

Monumental Inscriptions of St Nicholas Church, Strood — Kent Archaeological Society part of Churchyard, Strood. Recorded by D.E.Williams 2014

West Norwood Cemetery | London Museum

West Norwood Cemetery – Wikipedia

https://tedconnell.org.uk

Symbolism of cemetery plants: How flowers, trees and other botanical motifs honor those buried beneath

Symbol of the Month – the Ouroboros

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Ouroboros on 18th century headstone, St Mary’s churchyard, Rye, Sussex. ©Carole Tyrrell

For every end there is a beginning.

This is only one of the several positive and powerful meanings of the ouroboros which is one of the most ancient symbols known to man.  It’s depicted as a snake eating its own tail to sustain its life in an eternal cycle of renewal and it usually forms a full circle.  It occurs in many cultures, religions and beliefs.  The psychologist, Jung, called it an archetype which is best described as:

‘a primitive mental image inherited from the earliest human ancestors, and supposed to be present in the collective unconscious.

A lovely picture of an ouroboros on a mausoleum in Highgate West.
copyright Jeane Mary – used with kind permission
This is the mausoleum to which the ouroboros belongs.
Note downturned torches on doors which are a sign of life extinguished.
copyright Jeane Mary and used with kind permission.

The ouroboros appears in ancient churchyards and Victorian cemeteries as a symbol of resurrection.  The snake is reborn as it sheds its skin and this fine example is on a mausoleum in Highgate cemetery, London. Victorian visitors would have understood its meaning.   As a resurrection image it can be very positive as some of its other attributes are immortality, eternity and wisdom.  However, as with most symbols , it can have several meanings.  These include the Universe’s cyclic nature and life out of death and, as the snake sheds its skin it has a Phoenix-like cycle of life, death and rebirth. The Victorians revived several older symbols in a return to the classicism of ancient Greece and Rome.

There is also a magnificent ouroboros on the gates of Sheffield General Cemetery. The Highgate one inspired the tattoo worn proudly above by Jeane Mary, a photographer and fellow cemetery explorer now sadly gone from us. She also wears a Whitby mourning bracelet based on the ouroboros in Highgate. Used with kind permission.

But the ouroboros origins lie in either ancient Greece or Egypt as both cultures have claimed it.  In Greece, Plato described it as:

‘the first living thing, a self-eating, circular being’. 

In fact, the Greek translation of ouroboros is ‘tail devouring snake’ and it’s associated with something constantly recreating itself and the eternal return.

The earliest known depiction of an Ouroboros on one of the shrines enclosing the sarcophagus of Tutenkhamun. Shared under Wiki Commons. Egyptian Museum Cairo.

In Egypt, the ouroboros reputedly appears for the first time in the 14th century BC in Tutenkhamen’s tomb on an ancient funerary text. This depicts the Sun God Ra and his union with Osiris in the underworld and is illustrated with two serpents, holding their tails in their mouths, coiled around hands and feet. This may be a representation of the unified Ra-Osiris.  Both serpents are reputedly the manifestation of the god Mehen, who in other funerary texts protect Ra in his underworld journey.  I haven’t been able to find an image of this particular representation but I did find the one above which is claimed to be the earliest representation of an ouroboros.

The ouroboros also appears in Hindu, Norse, Aztec and Chinese religions.  In addition, it’s a significant alchemical symbo and features in Cleopatra the Alchemist’s work. There are also Masonic associations from numerous seals, frontispieces and other imagery dating from the 17th century such as the one below:

Alchemist ouroboros from Cleopatra the Alchemist Greco-Roman Egypt.

Aztec seven segmented ouroboros.

In China it can also take the form of a dragon and it features on the Magician card in the Rider- Waite deck of Tarot cards.

I found this quote online:

‘In other myths the ouroboros encircles the whole world, a circumference of the waters surrounding the earth.  It can support and maintain the world and also inject death into life and life into death.  Although apparently immobile, it’s actually in perpetual motion, forever recoiling upon itself.’

One of the many fascinating myths surrounding the ouroboros is the experience of the chemist, August Kekule, who was trying to discover the structure of benzene.   This is how he described his Eureka moment :

‘I was sitting, writing at my text-book; but the work did not progress; my thoughts were elsewhere. I turned my chair to the fire and dozed. Again the atoms were before my eyes. This time the smaller groups kept modestly in the background. My mental eye, rendered more acute by the repeated visions of the kind, could now distinguish larger structures of manifold conformation: long rows, sometimes more closely fitted together; all twining and twisting in snake-like motion. But look! What was that? One of the snakes had seized hold of its own tail, and the form whirled mockingly before my eyes. As if by a flash of lightning I awoke; and this time also I spent the rest of the night in working out the consequences of the hypothesis.’

As I said earlier, Jung would see this dream as evidence of the ouroboros and its effect on the collective unconscious.

The monument dedicated to Harriet. St George’s church, Beckenham, Kent copyright Carole Tyrrell
Close-up of the snakes. St George’s church Beckenham, Kent. copyright Carole Tyrrell
Harriet’s epitaph shows that she was obviously much missed. St George’s church, Beckenham, Kent. copyright Carole Tyrrell

Although the ouroboros is usually depicted as a full circle, this is one that I found in my local church, St Georges in Beckenham. On first glance, it merely looks like an attractive, rippling border around the name Harriet and it dates from 1815. But on a recent visit, I looked closer and realised that it was actually composed of 2 entwined snakes, each biting their own tail.  When I spoke to a churchwarden, she had always thought that, due to the patterning on the snakes’ bodies, that it was two entangled pieces of rope.   It is a poignant memorial to a young wife who died aged 25 after suffering the ‘most acute and lingering pains.’   So it would have been a potent reminder of resurrection. More recently, the ouroboros has also appeared as part of a crop circle.

The ouroboros is one of the most intriguing and interesting symbols that I have researched.  It is a universal image of rebirth, hope and eternity.

© Text and photos Carole Tyrrell unless otherwise stated

Further reading and references:

Ouroboros – Token Rock

Ouroboros – Wikipedia

Ouroboros – Crystalinks

Ouroboros, the Infinity Symbol – Mythologian.Net

Stories in Stone – Douglas Keister, Gibbs Smith, 2004

How to Read Symbols, Clare Gibson and Claire Haworth-Maden, A & C Black publishers, 2009

An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of traditional symbols J C Cooper, Thames & Hudson originally pub 1979, reprinted 1993

Excise men and smugglers – All Saints churchyard, Birchington, Kent

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Headstone dedicated to James Smith and Henry Nevil, All Saints, Birchington, Kent. © Carole Tyrrell

This headstone has intrigued me ever since I first saw it while exploring the fascinating churchyard of All Saints. The church is the oldest building still standing within the village and there may have been one on the site in Saxon times. So many questions came to mind. Firstly, what is an officer of excise?  And why are they buried together with such a disparity in their dates of death? And finally, what is the near illegible verse carved at the base of the headstone?

The epitaph reads:

‘OFFICERS of EXCISE

JOHN SMITH                  HENRY NEVIL

died the 27th                  died the 29th

of Oct 1746                    April 1745

Aged 23 years              Aged 59 years

At the top of the headstone are two entwined hands, both with fashionable (at the time) frilly cuffs, and above them is what appears to be an old fashioned curtain with two drapes hanging down on either side. This could be a reference to The Final Curtain. This is often associated with the theatrical world in that it indicates the end of a show, the end of an evening, and, in funerary symbolism terms, the end of a life. The drapes on either side of the hands also resemble downturned torches which are a symbol of extinguished life. The two hands could be a variant of the ‘shaking hands’ indicating that two friends have been reunited in death. Decorative scrolls surround the images enhance the design and are typical of the period.

The top of the headstone showing the symbols. © Carole Tyrrell

According to the Birchington Heritage Trust the facts are these:

‘In April 1745, there was a disastrous smuggling run on the Kent coast at an unknown location. Two Excise Officers, Henry Nevil, aged 59 and John Smith, aged 23, were badly injured for the smugglers gave no quarter. Henry died soon after the event but John lingered on for a further 18 months before finally dying in October 1746.’

The parish buried John with Henry after his death and erected a beautifully carved headstone in their memory. The verse at the base of the stone reads:

“Two gagers have met a fatal doom,

One past his prime, the other in his bloom,

Whose truth and justice bore, on equal scale,

And Christian virtues did o’er vice prevail.”

A ‘gager ‘was the nickname given to seamen when they left the service. Most excise men were ex-seamen hence the reference in the verse as it stuck to them in their new profession. It is still in use today as a term for anyone involved in preventing tax evasion.

The verse at the base of the headstone. © Carole Tyrrell

Clashes between Excise men and smugglers were often violent and bloody. The smugglers were well organised and large armed gangs would descend on a location armed to the teeth with cutlasses, blunderbusses and clubs. It was big business for the time.

According to the Borrowing Cats substack:

‘A notorious affray in 1786 saw Customs officers ‘severely beaten and near drowned’, at nearby Minnis Bay when attempting to seize kegs of brandy.’

Even now a pub in Birchington village is named ‘The Smugglers’.

Smugglers unloading illicit cargo. © starsider

Excise men were not popular. As the National Archives research guide describes it:

‘Excise duty is a tax imposed on certain goods at the time of manufacture. They differ from Customs in that excise is an inland duty and customs is a border tax. Excise was originally imposed in 1643 by the Long Parliament for the war against the Crown.  The revenue reverted to King Charles 11 after the Restoration and he was able to allow Nell Gwynn, one of his mistresses, £500 from these monies. Excise was imposed on anything that was popular at the time. Thus when wigs were fashionable there was a tax on their powder. When people had servants, they were taxed on male servants. Later taxes included tea; coffee; chocolate; beer; wine and spirits. In addition excise was levied on candles and other taxes were also imposed on salt, paper and windows.’

The National Archives hold records for Customs and Excise officer applications. In 1792, salaries varied from £800 pa for Commissioners to £50 a year for the Excise Officers.

‘The duties of an Excise Officer meant that they were allocated ‘a ride’. Every county was split into two divisions and each division into ‘rides’ i.e. the distance a man could ride on a horse in a day. The Excise Officer would have to visit at least twice during the manufacture of any goods, and in the case  of beer, wines and spirits they would need to sample them to test for alcoholic and quality. They then needed to record these details which were used to determine the amount of duty levied. This is why the application to become an Excise Officer required them to be literate and possess a good standard of arithmetic. Needless to say, officers involved with the testing of wines, spirits and beers were occasionally found intoxicated and this led to punishment or dismissal. Famous Excise men were Robert Burns and Thomas Paine.’

However,  there are also smugglers buried in the same churchyard and this includes three members of the Darby family who stated their occupation as ‘smuggler’. A ‘Riding Officer’, Thomas Thunder was also buried there in 1789. Another man whose occupation was listed as ‘smuggler’ was Thomas Hollands who was on the Burial Register in 1814 aged 34.

Smugglers and Exciseman dated 1774. © cuckfieldconnections.org

However there is a grisly legend of a male skeleton being discovered during 19th century renovations at the Vine Hotel, Skegness. He had been bricked into a cavity opposite the reception area and was still wearing the very tattered remnants of a uniform with buttons bearing the Royal insignia. But no hard evidence exists for this such as the current location of the skeleton or what happened to it although there have been rumours of ghostly happenings at the Hotel.

The Vine Hotel, Skegness.

There is also a very gruesome painting dated 1774 entitled ‘Bostonians Paying the Excise man or Tarring and Feathering.’  

So under spreading trees lie the two Officers of Excise, together for eternity, in a country churchyard.  But what a story they tell of smuggling and the men trying to foil them. RIP gentlemen you have done your duty.

© Carole Tyrrell

© Text and photos Carole Tyrrell unless otherwise indicated.

References and further reading:

https://birchingtonheritage.org.uk/Excise Men

https://birchingtonheritage.org.uk/SMUGGLERS in ALL SAINTS CHURCHYARD

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/customs-excise-tax-officers.htm – author Linda Taylor

The Excise Officer – Lincolnshire Folk Tales Project

(7) Borrowing Cats: Tangents-The Smugglers of Birchington

Snowdrops – the unofficial churchyard flower of February

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Snowdrops on the grave of George James, St George’s churchyard, Beckenham, Kent. © Carole Tyrrell

Dear all

I have not had access to my blog for a couple of weeks for various reasons. But I am now back and have been researching a group of headstones in the churchyard of St Nicholas, Stood, Kent.

But continuing last month’s theme of snowdrops, this was a lovely planting of them that I saw in St George’s churchyard in Beckenham Kent in February 2026. They are on the grave of George James.  The cross has obviously fallen at some point and I love the way in which the flowers have grown up around it and emphasised its shape.  Churchyards can often have magnificent displays of snowdrops in February which is one of the first signs of Spring.

Symbol of the Month – the dark side of the snowdrop

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Snowdrops in St George’s churchyard, Beckenham.
©Carole Tyrrell

Today it is Candlemas, an important day in the church calendar. It takes place 40 days after Christmas and marks the end of the Christmas period. A Christian feast day, it celebrates the presentation of Jesus at the Temple and the purification of Mary. But it is also associated with another significant event – the appearance of snowdrops in churchyards and cemeteries with their tiny nodding white heads in the breeze. A sign that Spring is on its way.

It’s always at this time of year that I repeat this post. For these delicate little flowers have another darker side to them and a long association with churchyards and death.

Imagine yourself in a gloomy medieval church on the festival of Candlemas. You, and your fellow parishioners, have each brought your candles to be blessed by the priest and, after the procession which will fill the church with light, they will all be placed in front of a statue of the Virgin Mary.   Candlemas marked the end of winter and the beginning of Spring and the blessing is to ward off evil spirits.  It traditionally falls on February 2 and is shared with the Celtic festival of Imbolc.  And in the churchyard outside you can see green shoots forcing their way up through the hard winter earth as the snowdrop’s milk-white flowers begin to emerge into the light.

The placing of the lit candles in front of the Virgin Mary’s statue gave the snowdrop one of its many other names – Mary’s Tapers.  But there are many others such: Dingle Dangle, Candlemas Bells, Fair Maids of February, Snow Piercer, Death’s Flower and Corpse Flower.

Snowdrops, Brompton Cemetery
©Carole Tyrrell

The snowdrop’s appearance has also inspired many comments . According to the Scottish Wildlife Trusts website they have been described as resembling 3 drops of milk hanging from a stem and they are also associated with the ear drop which is an old fashioned ear ring.  Anyone who has seen a group of snowdrops nodding in the wind will understand what they mean.   The snowdrop’s colour is associated with purity and they have been described as a shy flower with their drooping flowers.  However, the eco enchantments website reveals that the flower is designed in this way due:

‘to the necessity of their dusty pollen being kept dry and sweet in order to attract the few insects flying in winter.’

Snowdrops have been known since ancient times and, in 1597, appeared in Geralde’s ‘Great Herbal’ where they were called by the less than catchy name of ‘Timely Flowers Bulbous Violets’.  Its Latin name is Galanthus nivalis.  Galanthus means milk white flowers and the nivalis element translates as snowy according to the great botanist, Linnaeus in 1753.   In the language of flowers they’re associated with ‘Hope’, the coming of spring and life reawakening.

However, yet despite all these positive associations, the elegant snowdrop has a much darker side. Monks were reputed to have brought them to the UK but it was the ever enthusiastic Victorians who copiously planted them in graveyards, churchyards and cemeteries which then linked them with death.  Hence the nickname name ‘Death’s Flower.’

They were described by Margaret Baker in the 1903 ‘Encyclopedia of Superstitions, Folklore and the Occult of the World’ as:

‘so much like a corpse in a shroud that in some counties  the people will not have it in the house, lest they bring in death.‘

So that’s where the ‘Corpse Flower’ nickname came from.

Snowdrops, St George’s Beckenham.
©Carole Tyrrell

Snowdrops are also seen as Death’s Tokens and there are several regional folk traditions of connecting death with them. For example in the 19th and early 20th centuries it was considered very unlucky to bring the flower into the house from outside as it was felt that a death would soon occur.  The most unlucky snowdrop was that with a single bloom on its stem.    Other folk traditions were described in a 1913 folklore handbook which claims that if a snowdrop was brought indoors it will make the cows milk watery and affect the colour of the butter.  Even as late as 1969 in ‘The Folklore of Plants’  it was stated that having a snowdrop indoors could affect the number of eggs that a sitting chicken might hatch.  A very powerful plant if these are all to be believed – you have been warned!

It’s amazing that this little flower has so many associations and legends connected with it but I always see it as a harbinger of spring, rebirth and an indication of warmer days to come.

But the snowdrop also has a surprise.  This came courtesy of the Urban Countryman page on Facebook – not all social media is time wasting!  If you very gently turn over a snowdrop bloom you will find that the underside is even prettier and they also vary depending on the snowdrop variety.

Here is a small selection of snowdrop undersides from my local churchyard and one from Kensal Green cemetery.

St George’s, Beckenham
©Carole Tyrrell

St George’s Beckenham
©Carole Tyrrell
St George’s churchyard Beckenham
©Carole Tyrrell
Kensal Green Cemetery March 2017
©Carole Tyrrell

So don’t underestimate the snowdrop – it’s a plant associated with life and death but watch out for your hens and the colour of your butter if you do decide to tempt fate…..

©Carole Tyrrell text and photos unless otherwise stated

References:

http://www.plantlore.com

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/naturestudies/bright-in-winters-depths-why-the-flawless-flower-of-candlemas-is-ajoy-forever-8483967

http://www.flowermeaning.com/snowdrop-flower-meaning

http://www.ecoenchantments.co.uk/mysnowdropmagicpage.html

Symbol of the Month – the yew tree

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A few fine yew trees in St Margaret’s churchyard, Rochester. © Carole Tyrrell

They are the sentinels of the silent cities, standing tall and spreading out their branches to shade the last resting places of the permanent residents.  Yew trees can often be older than the churches which they nestle beside in the churchyard and may predate Christianity as many churches were built on pagan sites of worship. In fact there are reputed to be at least 500 yew trees of this vintage!  And incredibly, there are 10 yew trees in Britain that are believed to predate the 10th century.

These venerable trees have many associations and traditions.  I will try and concentrate on a few but they are usually associated with churchyards and burial grounds. The most common one is that they are nourished by the decaying bodies beneath them and, as they can grow up to 20 metres high, this could seem plausible.  Another tradition states that yews were planted on plague victims graves to protect and purify them – if this were true than some churchyards would resemble a forest!

Another common tradition is that they were planted to prevent ‘commoners’ from grazing their cattle on church ground.  This was because yews are very poisonous to livestock.  The needles are deadly, and Shakespeare used this in Macbeth when the three witches conjure up a deadly brew that contains, amongst other unpleasant ingredients:

‘Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Silver’d in the moon’s eclipse,’

However, the Celts saw the yew as a symbol of immortality, death and resurrection. The yew’s drooping branches are able to root and form new trunks where they touch the ground.  The one at St James in Cooling was living inside its dead ancestor which demonstrates its ability to renew itself.

Ancient yew tree in St James, Cooling, Kent © Carole Tyrrell

Another ancient yew with a new tree growing inside the old one. © Carole Tyrrell

In fact, they are one of the most long lived trees in Western Europe but are not considered ancient until at least 900 years old.  The oldest tree in Scotland, and possibly Europe, is the magnificent Fortingall yew in Glen Lyon.  It has been suggested that it is over 2000 years old and maybe even 9000 years old.  It has numerous legends attached to it and in 1769 was reputed to have a girth of over 56ft.  In 1854, funeral processions were reputed to be able to pass through the arch formed by its split trunk.  The yew in St Cynog’s churchyard in Wales is a mere stripling at a reputed 5000 years old. One of the world’s oldest surviving wooden artifacts is a yew spear head which is estimated to be around 450,000 years old. They are evergreens with red berries which although are edible, the seed in the berry is extremely dangerous.

Fortingall Yew in 2011 ©Paul Hermans. Shared under Wiki Creative Commons

A trunk of the Fortingall Yew. ©Mogens Engelund Shared under Wiki Creative Commons

One of my favourite churchyards is that of St Marys in Painswick, Gloucestershire.  It has 99 clipped yew trees but according to Roy’s blog post, attempts to grow a 100th tree have always failed.  They are a dramatic sight to see!

The scenic avenue of 99 yew trees at St Mary’s Painswick ©Carole Tyrrell

I must admit that I would feel disappointed if I visited a churchyard and didn’t see a tall, majestic yew or two keeping watch over the dead as potent symbols of resurrection and immortality.

© Text and photos Carole Tyrrell unless otherwise stated

References and further reading

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2018/01/ancient-yew-trees/

https://tree2mydoor.com/pages/information-trees-tree-directory-yew-trees

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxus_baccata

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortingall_Yew oldest yew tree in Britain.

A little beauty! – the Pepper family, St Laurence in Thanet, Ramsgate, Kent

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The headstone dedicated to Mrs Martha Pepper and her two daughters, Elizabeth and Sarah. © Carole Tyrrell

Firstly, Happy New Year to you all! Winter is always a good time to explore cemeteries and churchyards due to the winter die back of vegetation and last November was no exception.

Now, a word of warning, never assume when you’re out exploring churchyards that all headstones are facing in a certain way.  I have visited this churchyard several times, saw this headstone and had dismissed it as being weathered and unreadable.  How wrong I was! I had thought that it was facing me when in fact the opposite was true.

On this visit, it was a terrible November day, cold and wet, and the evening chill was beginning to close in as the evening began to draw on. The winter die back had revealed headstones along the churchyard’s front wall and boundary wall that I hadn’t previously able to previously see displaying a multitude of ‘winged souls’.  

Headstones placed along a boundary wall displaying ‘winged souls’. © Carole Tyrrell

These have featured in a previous Symbol of the Month dated 29 April 2025. But as I was gingerly stepping over wet leaves to look at them more closely by the front entrance, I looked down and saw this one!

The women of the Pepper family. © Carole Tyrrell

It  is actually facing the churchyard wall and I had been looking at its back on my other visits. It still looks as crisp and clear as when it was carved with two stylised skulls and bones facing each other displaying teeth.

On the right hand side there is a dedication to:

‘Here lyeth

Martha, wife of Wm Pepper

Aged 24 Was Buryed on

11th day of November 1705’

On the left hand side there is another dedication is to their two daughters:

‘ Here lyeth Eliz {abeth}

and Sarah

daughters of

Wm and Martha Pepp’

I couldn’t see any dates but they may be obscured by damp vegetation.

What’s interesting about this headstone is, that if you look closely, you can see that the stonemason has run out of space with some of the letters and had to put the rest of them on the next line.  This happens with ‘Martha’ and also ‘Pepper’ on the left hand side near the bottom when both words become split. I haven’t seen this before on a headstone although I knew that it did happen.

Full view of William Pepper’s headstone. © Carole Tyrrell

William Pepper is also buried in the churchyard but I couldn’t find his tombstone on this visit. Instead, I had to consult Charles Cotton’s 1895 book, ‘History and Antiquities of the Church and Parish of St Laurence (Lawrence) Thanet (Ramsgate) which I found on the Kent Archaeological Society website under their Monumental Inscriptions page.

As a result, I did make a return visit to the churchyard and located William’s tombstone which is beside Martha’s. As you can see it is much larger with a winged soul at the top and what I assume to be clouds above that.

A full view of William Pepper’s epitaph. © Carole Tyrrell

There is also a more fulsome epitaph although much of it wasn’t readable. What I could read said:

‘Here lyeth with his wife

and two Children

Wm Pepper…..the rest is illegible

who died on the 15th April 1746 aged 73 years….the rest is illegible.’

It may be easier to read on a better day. The headstone seems to have been more professionally carved but of the two I do prefer his wife’s.

But Martha’s tombstone had been such a wonderful find on such a terrible day weatherwise and it was good to be able to find her husband’s headstone as well to complete the family group.

The two tombstones encapsulate the change that took place in churchyard symbols during the 18th century. It began with the very stark reminder of death with the skull and crossbones to a more comforting message for those left behind towards the end of the century. This emphasised that there might be eternal life on ‘the other side’ as the soul flies heavenward.

©Text and photos Carole Tyrrell unless otherwise stated.

References:

History and Antiquities of the Church and Parish of St Laurence (Lawrence)Thanet (Ramsgate) – reference taken from the Kent Archaeological Society website under Monumental Records, Charles Cotton 1895.